Hextall's son to play for Lehigh Valley Phantoms

Brett Hextall , the son of Philadelphia Flyers general manager Ron Hextall, signed an AHL contract with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Monday.

Brett Hextall , the son of Philadelphia Flyers general manager Ron Hextall, signed an AHL contract with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Monday. (Norm Hall, NHLI via Getty Images)

Gary R. Blockus, Of The Morning Call

Lehigh Valley Phantoms sign Hextall's son

Brett Hextall, the 26-year-old son of Philadelphia Flyers Hall of Famer and general manager Ron Hextall, has signed an AHL contract with the team's AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, for the 2014-15 season.

Brett Hextall is a 5-10, 190-pound right wing with a right-handed shot who played for the Portland (Maine) Pirates, the AHL affiliate of the Arizona Coyotes, for the past three seasons.

Hextall is the ninth player under contract with the Phantoms, and the fourth generation of pro hockey player in his family.

Bryan Hextall, Sr., Brett's great-grandfather, earned Hockey Hall of Fame honors for his career with the New York Rangers from `936-1948. Grandfather Bryan Hextall, Jr. played 549 NHL games in the 1970s for Pittsburgh, and for the Baltimore Clippers and Rochester Americans in the AHL. Great-uncle Dennis Hextall also played in the AHL and NHL.

Ron Hextall, a Flyers Hall of Famer, played in 608 career NHL games as a goalie for the Flyers, the Quebec Nordiques and the New York Islanders. He also played in the AHL for the then-Flyers affiliate Hershey Bears, the regional rival of the first-year Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Ron Hextall was promoted to general manager from assistant G.M. earlier this summer when Paul Holmgren became president of the team. He had been assistant G.M. of the Los Angles Kings for seven season before joining the Flyers in that capacity last season.

Hextall is the ninth player signed to an AHL contract with the Phantoms for the coming season. Others include winger defensemen Steven Delisle, Brett Flemming, forwards Austin Fyten, Kevin Goumas, Matt Hatch, Darroll Powe, and goaltenders Connor Knapp and Martin Ouelette.

Most of the players assigned to the roster of the Phantoms in the 2014-15 season will be on NHL contracts with the Philadelphia Flyers.

The first puck will drop at the PPL Center when the Phantoms host an exhibition game against the rival Hershey Bears on Wednesday Oct. 1. The Phantoms will also host an exhibition game Saturday, Oct. 4 against the Albany Devils.

The regular season home-opener at the PPL Center takes place Friday, Oct. 17.

The AHL schedule is expected to be released this week, according to AHL president Dave Andrews.

Tickets for the Phantoms preseason home games are on sale by calling 610-347-8499 or going online to http://www.pplcenter.com. Tickets for the preseason are $12 for upper bowl seating and $15 for lower bowl seating. Season and partial seasontickets are available by calling 610-224-4624.